Issue a visa to my husband, an interpreter for US troops in Afghanistan

My husband Fazil served with the US Army as an interpreter for 3 years. His visa application is currently in "administrative processing" at the US Embassy in Kabul, under the SIV program for Afghan and Iraqi Interpreters.

Both sections of this special immigrant visa (SIV) program are set to expire soon unless Congress extends the deadline. Most applications take 24-36 months to process after interviewing because of the extensive red tape of government bureaucracy. All of these applicants live with constant danger because of their service to the United States. Many of them will not survive to get a visa.

My husband served alongside my younger brother and many other American servicemen and women, becoming brothers and friends, not just colleagues. Fazil was with my brother when my brother's armored truck over an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) during which my brother sustained injuries and was awarded a Purple Heart. My husband lived in the same conditions with our soldiers and went on every single mission required, also volunteering for other missions no other interpreter would go on. He served honorably for 3 years with various US Army units, always performing his job at full capacity, no matter how tired or cold or scared.

He deserves US citizenship, to be with his family in the US, to live in safety, with the satisfaction of knowing he did his best to help make the world safer from terrorism. Because of his service to the US Army and his marriage to me (a US-born citizen), my husband's life is in constant danger. Two weeks after his visa interview at the Embassy, he was directly threatened by a representative of the local Taliban group in his hometown due to his job and our marriage. He is on multiple Taliban kill lists and our children and I live in constant fear we will never see him again.

The military honor code teaches never to leave a man behind. It is shameful that the US government promises native allies help in exchange for service but then leaves them stuck in an endless wait for that help, stalled by the multiple government agencies that demand access to the files and then take months picking through the paperwork. The interpreters and translators applying for these visas already have extensive background checks because of their prior jobs with the military and they should not have to wait 24-36 months for security approval when their situations grow more dangerous with every moment. We should not have to live in fear that our spouses, friends and relatives will never achieve the safety promised to them by the US government.

By signing this petition for my husband, we can show the Embassy that people support those foreign allies who have put their lives on the line for our troops, the same way we support our US troops who have deployed. Please sign and tell the US Embassy in Kabul to expedite my husband's visa so he can come home. Thank you.